


You See Me Waiting in the Sunlight

by Anonymous



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Confessions, Fluff, Friendship, Multi, Swordfighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 23:56:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11588793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Will watches a sword fight, and then finally gets the courage to ask for what he wants.





	You See Me Waiting in the Sunlight

**Author's Note:**

> [previous fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11579703). Enjoy!

Will Solace was over the moon and halfway to the next galaxy.

He practically skipped back to his cabin, grinning like a madman and humming a happy song under his breath.As soon as he collapsed on his bed with a happy sigh, Austin and Kayla were on either side of him, boxing him in.

"What's got you so happy?" Kayla asked slyly.

Will gave her a disapproving frown, which was hard to do with the joy swelling in his chest."Keep it down," he chided."Our siblings are sleeping."

Austin waved a hand dismissively."The sun's down, they were all out like a light an hour ago."

Will had to concede that point.As children of the God of the Sun, Will and his siblings were practically solar powered.The older kids were better at staying up late, but it helped that Will had drunk three cups of caffeinated tea at dinner.

"So..." Kayla said, drawing out the word teasingly."Did you finally make a move on di Angelo?"

Will blushed a little.Kayla and Austin were the only ones who knew about his crush on the son of Hades, and they never missed an opportunity to tease him about it."I don't know what you're talking about," Will mumbled."You guys should go to bed."Will wanted to go to bed too, so he could daydream about Nico in peace, think about how soft his dark hair has been when Will had briefly hugged him after walking him back to his cabin following the campfire, how perfectly his cool, dry hand fit into Will's own palm.Gods, he had it bad.

Kayla gave him a look, clearly unimpressed."You're not fooling anyone, Solace," she said flatly.

Austin laughed, and added, "Yeah, don't think we didn't notice that you ditched us for Nico, Jason, and Piper.Kayla is still salty."

Will pressed his lips together guiltily."Sorry, guys," he muttered.

"Don't apologize," Kayla ordered, nudging his shoulder."Tell us what happened.Did you make a move?"

Will thought about that for a moment, trying to figure out I his actions constituted as 'making a move.'He had been trying to ask Nico to the campfire for weeks now, and for weeks Nico had blushed and mumbled some sort of excuse before running away.It was a little disheartening, to be honest, but Will didn't give up easily.And then he had seen Nico standing on the edge of the forest, watching the campfire and smiling, and had convinced the other demigod to join them.Will had spent the next few hours subtly flirting with Nico, who seemed fairly oblivious, and had held hands with him on the way back to the Hades cabin before giving him a hug when he said goodnight.That... _seemed_ like a move.Will quickly gave his siblings a recap of the night, and waited nervously.

"Yeah, he totally likes you," Austin said after a moment of thought.Kayla and Will both stared at him.

"What?" Kayla exclaimed, a little too loud for a cabin full of sleeping campers, but ignored Austin when he shushed her.

"Do you really think so?" Will asked hopefully.

Austin shrugged."Dude, have you _seen_ di Angelo?" he pointed out."He's a badass.I'm pretty sure if he didn't want you hugging him, he would have punched you in the kidneys. _Percy Jackson_ came into the infirmary last month with a broken toe from Nico stomping on him after he pushed Nico into the lake, you wouldn't stand a chance."

Will laughed softly, because that was a very _Percy_ thing to do."Yeah, I heard about that," he said, and then sobered."So you really think... he likes me?"

"I know an easy solution," Kayla said.

Will perked up."Really?What is it?"

Kayla gave him a look."Ask him, idiot," she said."Ask him out, and if he likes you he'll say yes.And if he doesn't, then he's not worthy of you, and Austin and I'll beat him up."

"Ha, no," Austin said nervously."I don't wanna get my ass kicked."Kayla glared, and Austin sighed."Fine, yeah, we'll protect your honor, Will."

"But seriously, just ask him out tomorrow.OK?" Kayla added."Stop being a little kid pining over your first crush and ask him."

Will smiled nervously."Alright," he said."Yeah.Yeah, you're totally right, he likes me.I'll ask him out tomorrow."

And Will was so giddy with happiness after spending the evening with Nico that he almost believed himself.

***

He couldn't do it.Will knew he was a coward.There was no way he could ask Nico out, Nico was _so_  out of his league.It would be best if he just walked away and pretended like nothing had ever- 

"Hey, Solace!"Will paused, and turned.Piper McLean was standing on the path towards the amphitheater, waving at him.Will blinked in confusion at her for a moment, and then crossed the grass to meet her.

"What's up, Piper?" he asked."Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Piper said quickly."Since Percy and Annabeth are back for the weekend, Percy, Nico, and Jason are finally having their 'Sons of the Big Three' showdown in the amphitheater.Wanna watch?"

Will hesitated."Why me?" he asked.

Piper gave him a bright smile."Might be a good idea to have a medic on hand," she said, and then motioned."Come on, it'll be fun."

Will hesitated another moment, and then shrugged."Sure, I don't have anything to do."His siblings were in archery, an activity Will had been temporarily barred from after getting an arrow tangled in Chiron's tail.In Will's defense, it hadn't been his fault.Nico had walked by, and he had gotten distracted.

"Great!" Piper said excitedly, and Will fell into step with her with a smile.He liked the daughter of Aphrodite, in a completely platonic way.Despite going through a war, she was still nice to most people, and she was definitely more fun than Drew in counselor meetings."So we have a betting pool," Piper said."Nico vs. Jason vs. Percy.You want in on that?"

Will made a thoughtful noise."I'd bet on Nico," he said after not too much thought."Jason's older, and has more experience, and Percy fought in both wars, but Nico is faster and has a more versatile fighting style."

"Is that so?" Piper said, raising an eyebrow at him."You seem to be pretty familiar with the way Nico fights."

Will fought to keep himself from going red."I was there, in the final battle with Gaea," he said defensively."I saw _everyone_ fight."

"Yep," Piper agreed."That's true."

Will squinted suspiciously at her.She sounded sincere, but Will was pretty sure she was teasing him somehow. However, before he could ask, they reached the amphitheater.Piper spotted Annabeth already in the stands and waved to her, walking over.Will followed.Normally he would be a little nervous about hanging out with two of the Seven, two of the demigods that undoubtably saved the world, but Piper had invited him and he had known Annabeth for a long time, even back before the first Great Prophecy.  So it was only slightly intimidating.

"Hey, Piper," Annabeth said in a friendly voice as they approached."Hey, Will."

"I thought it would be a good idea to have a healer on hand for when our stupid boyfriends inevitably hurt themselves," Piper told her with a laugh in her voice.

Annabeth gave Will a amiable smile, but there was a glint of something almost cunning in her eyes."Glad to have you then, Will," she said.

Will smiled back."Thanks.How's college treating you, Annabeth?”

Annabeth lit up, and started telling them about the architecture classes she was taking at university.Will and Piper listened with interest, albeit a bit perplexed with the jargon she was using.A sudden clang of metal on metal startled Will, and Piper snickered when he jumped.He resisted the temptation to glare at her and turned his attention to the center of the amphitheater, where the sons of the Big Three had started fighting with each other.

Will blinked in surprise, and then leaned forward and tried to focus on the fight, but all three demigods were moving so fast that by the time Will registered a strike, they had gone through the next three.Nico was in the middle, somehow fending off both Percy and Jason, but as Will watched he stepped to the side and ducked under Percy’s arm to put the son of Poseidon into conflict with Jason.

“Wow.They’re really good,” Will muttered.

“It’s impressive, until you think about how they got that way,” Piper agreed in a low voice as they watched Jason parry a blow from Percy before aiming a barely-deflected stab in Nico’s direction.

Will chewed on his lip.“How come they aren’t using their powers?” he asked.“I would have expected, you know, some flying or zombies by now.”

“They decided not to,” Annabeth said.“They didn’t want any bystanders to get hurt.We aren’t the only ones watching, after all.”

For the first time since the fight had started, Will looked up to see a few dozen other campers around the amphitheater, watching the sparring with avid interest.“Good point,” Will said, and then his attention snapped back to the fight as someone let out a cry.

Jason’s sword was flipped out of his hands by Percy as Nico kneed him in the back, and Will saw it turn into a coin midair before falling to the dust.Laughing, Jason got to his feet and limped back a few steps to pick up his sword, quickly getting out of the way of Percy and Nico, who were going at it like their lives depended on it.They fought for another minute or so, Percy quick and precise and Nico a whirling dervish, before Percy said something to Nico.Will was too far away to hear his words, but whatever it was made Nico freeze for a split second, and that was enough for Percy to twist the sword out of his hand and kick him behind the knees.

“I win!” Percy exclaimed in excitement before turning Riptide back into a pen and offering Nico a hand up.

“That was a dirty trick, Jackson,” Nico grumbled, ignoring the hand and getting up himself.“That was below the belt.”

Jason grinned at them.“All’s fair in love and war, I guess,” he said, pushing his glasses up his nose a little.

“Yeah, bro, no hard feelings, right?” Percy said with a smirk, slinging an arm around Nico’s shoulders.

Nico’s reply was to elbow him in the ribs, and Percy jumped back.“Zeus!How are you still so bony?Hasn’t Solace been making you eat?”

“Shut up,” Nico muttered, and then glanced at Will, Annabeth, and Piper.His expression brightened a little when he noticed Will, and he strode over, Jason and Percy trailing beside him.

“That was impressive to watch, but Jason, couldn’t you have tried a little harder?” Piper said, punching her boyfriend in the shoulder.“I had ten drachmas riding on you.”

“What did you say to Nico, Seaweed Brain?” Annabeth asked.

Percy’s smirk widened.“I asked him if I’m not his type, then why-”

Nico slapped his hand over Percy’s mouth and hissed, “One more word and you’re getting a one-way ticket to the Underworld.”Then shock flashed across his face, and he quickly withdrew his hand.“Did you _lick_ me?” he said incredulously.

Percy laughed.

Nico scowled at him, and there must have been something in his expression that Will didn’t see, because Percy sobered and said, “Well, we have a thing, see you guys at dinner,” before grabbing Annabeth’s hand and walking away.

Jason eyed Will and Nico with an odd expression, and then said, “I should drop by the infirmary and make sure Neeks didn’t break my spine.”

“You wouldn’t be standing,” Will told him.“I can take a look if you want.”

Jason waved a hand.“Nah, it’s fine,” he said.“See you guys around.”

He and Piper left, leaving Will alone with Nico.Will swallowed, trying to think of something smart to say, but before any words got past the nervous lump in his throat Nico laughed a little and said, “Sorry, I’m sort of gross.”

“You’re not gross!” Will blurted, and then immediately blushed.Nico was sweaty, sure, but his black hair was tied in a cute little ponytail at the base of his neck with a few hairs escaping to frame his face, his face was pleasantly flushed, and his dark eyes shone with excitement and adrenaline.

Nico cocked his head, but smiled tentatively as he sheathed his sword.“Thanks.I think.”

Will cleared his throat, rubbed the back of his neck nervously, and then managed to say, “So, um, there’s another campfire tomorrow.Do you want to go?”

“Yeah, I think I probably will,” Nico answered with a small nod.“I had more fun than I expected yesterday.And I think I’m addicted to s’mores now.  No thanks to Jason.”

Will took a deep breath, and then said in a rush, “I mean, like, do you want to go.With me.Do you want to go to the campfire with me?”

A tiny crease appeared between Nico’s eyebrows as he eyed Will in confusion.“What?”

Will swallowed.“I mean, like, as a date,” he said quietly.“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to, of course, but I really like you and I wanted to know if you were interested in going-”

“Yes,” Nico replied, interrupting Will’s embarrassing rambling.“Yeah, I do want to go to the campfire with you.”

Will smiled slowly, unsure if he was dreaming.“Really?”

Nico’s smile grew to match.“Definitely.”

Will barely refrained from squealing, and just grinned at Nico.Nico smiled back, looking just as happy.“Can I hug you?” Will asked, and Nico made a face.

“I’m kinda sweaty,” he pointed out.

Will hugged him anyways, and Nico _was_ sweaty, but Will didn’t care because this time Nico lifted his arms and hugged back.

Will let go after a long moment and Nico said, “I really have to go shower.But I’ll see you later?”

Will nodded.“See you,” he replied, and Nico walked off with a a wave and a friendly smile.When he was out of earshot Will squeaked, covering his grin.He had a date.With Nico di Angelo.

Will Solace was over the moon.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I hope you enjoyed. Have a lovely day, dear reader!
> 
> [next fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11599773)


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